WESTON, Mass. - In a battle typical of the rivalry, Regis College and Emerson College went the distance before the Lions prevailed, 3-2, but the Pride were able to bounce back and sweep Colby-Sawyer College, 3-0, Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's collegiate volleyball tri-match at Higgins Court.
Regis 3, Colby-Sawyer 0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-7)
Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Pride with seven kills and two service aces, plus he earned eight digs, while John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) also had seven kills in 11 attempts without an error for a .636 hitting percentage along with four total blocks. After being honored in a Senior Day presentation, Donovan Ross (Southbridge, Mass.) finished with three kills and four total blocks, and Marcello Cappuccio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) paced the Regis backline with 14 defensive digs.
Regis scored nine of the first 10 points of the match, led by three kills from Nangle, to take the early lead. After consecutive errors, the Pride put together a 10-2 scoring run to close out the opening set, capped by another kill from Nangle.
In the second set, the Chargers closed to within one at 4-3 on a kill by Austin Ponsness and a block by CJ Murphy, but Regis responded with another 10-2 scoring run, featuring two blocks by Ross and Robert Burch (Coxsackie, N.Y.). The teams basically traded points throughout the rest of the set, with the Pride eventually clinching the second set on a Charger service error.
The Pride scored six straight points early in the third set, including two kills by Burch, to open a 7-1 advantage, and then the home team continued to expand its advantage by not allowing Colby-Sawyer to score consecutive points. Regis' defense at the net closed out the set and the match, as the final three Pride points were scored on two kills by Nangle as well as a solo block by Burch.
Isaac Davies led the Chargers with six kills, with Ponsness contributing five kills and eight digs. Murphy dished out 15 assists, and Phu Ngo also earned eight defensive digs to go along with three kills.
Emerson 3, Regis 2 (18-25, 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 15-6)
Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) broke the Regis single-match kills record with 27 kills, four more than the previous standard of 23 kills established by Andrew Carroll against Sarah Lawrence Feb. 26, 2012, and equaled by Sean Bisnett against Wells Jan. 30, 2016. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) notched a double-double with 42 assists and 20 digs, Plagata contributed 12 digs, and Cappuccio led all players in the match with 22 digs.
Regis scored the first five points of the match and then rattled off another 5-0 scoring run to open a 13-4 advantage in the first set. Emerson struck back with a 7-1 scoring run, led by Luke Roehm with two kills and two total blocks, to pull within three at 14-11, but Perez notched two kills and consecutive service aces to extend the Pride lead back to eight at 21-13. Perez and Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy) helped Regis close out the first set with a kill apiece.
The Pride scored the first four points of the second set, but the Lions battled back, eventually taking a 10-9 lead on a block by Neiko Pittman and Ben Dorsey. Regis quickly responded with a 7-3 scoring run to retake the lead at 16-13 before Emerson scored five of the next six points, capped by consecutive service aces from Roehm. After Regis retook the lead at 21-20 on an ace from Perez, the Lions scored five of the final six points of the second set, punctuated by a kill from Pittman.
Nangle opened the third set with a kill and a block along with Burch, but Emerson struck back with a 10-1 scoring run, led by Pittman with four kills and three block assists. The Lions increased their lead into double figures thanks to four unanswered points later in the set, clinching the third set on a kill by Ben Dorsey and a block from Pittman and Jack Miessner.
Perez collected five kills early in the fourth set as Regis established an 8-4 lead, but Emerson responded with five straight points, including two solo blocks by Ramsis De Los Santos. After a kill by De Los Santos made the score 18-16 in favor of the Lions, the Pride put together a 9-4 scoring run to close out the fourth set, tying the match and forcing a deciding fifth set for the fourth time in the last five meetings between the two programs.
After a kill by Plagata brought Regis within one at 4-3, Emerson scored six of the next seven points to open a 10-4 advantage. The Pride could not put together a rally as the Lions eventually clinched the match by scoring the final three points on a kill by Dorsey, a block by Dorsey and Pittman, and a block by Pittman and Miessner.
Pittman led the Lions with 15 kills and 11 total blocks, while Roehm also notched a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs to go along with seven total blocks. Miessner contributed seven kills, 16 digs, and seven total blocks, Bayden Slavik dished out 37 assists to go along with five kills and seven digs, and Bryson Beck led the Lions with 18 defensive digs.
In the middle contest of the tri-match, Emerson swept Colby-Sawyer, 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-12), led by Pittman with 14 kills in 20 attempts without an error for a .700 hitting percentage. Ponsness led the Chargers with nine kills and eight digs.
Regis (10-15, 5-8 GNAC) heads into Boston to face Emmanuel Tuesday, April 4, starting at 7 p.m. Emerson (11-12, 8-6 GNAC) hosts Emmanuel and Rivier in a tri-match next Saturday, April 8, beginning at 10 a.m., and Colby-Sawyer (3-19, 0-12 GNAC) hosts Rivier Tuesday night at 7 p.m.